126
It had taken a little bit of talking to lose their retinue. Everyone had been anxious to see that Rose was all right. Angel allowed himself a brief uncharitable moment to wonder if they would ever get used to Rose being abducted. Or if maybe, and he hardly dared to hope this, that the kidnappings, for no matter what reason, would stop.
Spike finally deigned to let Rose stand on her own two feet once they got to the apartment. He was giving her a very thorough visual inspection and was about to comment in the form of a wolf whistle when something else caught his attention. "What happened to your knees, babe?"
"I fell?" Rose could have kicked herself for the way it came out. No sense in getting Spike all worked up again. M'rek was dead and no longer available for Spike to take his feelings out on.
"Mm-hmm." Spike didn't sound very convinced, and he wasn't, but he was glad enough to have her back that he wasn't going to make an issue of it. "Guess we ought to see about getting that bloody collar off you then, luv."
"Allow me." Angel produced a set of lock picks and made short work of it. In answer to the sidelong looks he was receiving, he mumbled, "It was a crummy lock. I probably could have broken it open with my hands, but I didn't want to hurt Rose."
"Someone already has," Spike remarked softly. "Look at her poor neck." Rose's neck had raw welts from the times M'rek had jerked on her chain to spur her into moving. Spike felt his temper rise again. "Bloody damned cur," he snarled. "I knew I killed the bastard too fast."
"It's all over now, love," Rose soothed, then changed the subject. "Right now, I think I'd like to get cleaned up and into some proper clothes. And eat," she added, even though it hadn't been all that long since she'd eaten. "Right now, I think I'd kill for a pizza."
Spike frowned momentarily, but then it passed. "Whatever you want, sweetheart," he said indulgently. "I guess once in a while can't hurt."
Angel pulled out his cell phone. "What do you want on your pizza, Rose?"
Rose thought a moment, then held out her hand for the phone. "I think I'd better order it myself," she replied. "That way I'll only have to explain it once."
&&&&&&&
Rose reflected that it had been a good thing when she'd ordered the pizza for an hour off. Getting cleaned up and changed took longer than she had anticipated. Part of it had to do with arguing with Spike over the abbreviated costume she'd been put into. Spike was all for keeping it. Even Rose pointing out that the bloodstains would be difficult, if not downright impossible to get out hadn't deterred him, she should have known better than to try to put a vampire off with a few bloodstains. Finally, she had won out by simply saying that hell would freeze over before she wore the damned thing again. Evidently her use of two swear words in one sentence had gotten his attention. But then, while they were showering, Spike began to get amorous ideas, surprise, and she only put him off that for the moment by looking piteous and saying that she was really hungry, and her pizza would get cold.
They actually did get out into the main room before the pizza did. At least, Spike did. He was feeling a little sulky at not having gotten his way about anything, but was trying to hide it. The delivery was made while Rose was still brushing out her hair.
Spike was flipping through the book of names again. Going to have to make some decisions on that score sooner or later. Suddenly, his nose wrinkled up. "Do you smell something?" he asked Angel, who had his face buried in the evening paper.
Angel sniffed and made a similar face. "What in the hell is that reek?" he muttered. "It smells like its coming from..,"
He was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was someone from security, with Rose's pizza, since after the last time, delivery persons were no longer allowed this far into the building. The smell which had so offended the two vampires seemed to be coming from the pizza box.
"What do you suppose she got on it that smells so bad?" Angel mused aloud. "I honestly don't see her eating this. I'm about to hurl myself."
Spike gave a snort of laughter. "You should've seen that damn sandwich she made just before we moved in here. Everything but the kitchen sink on it." He sniffed again. "It didn't smell as bad as that, though."
Rose emerged from the bedroom. "Oh good," she remarked. "My pizza is here."
"What did you get on it, Rose?" Angel was dying of curiosity.
Rose took the box from him and went into the kitchen with it, and both Spike and Angel followed, despite the reek. "Everything," she said, sounding just a bit evasive.
"Pizza with the works don't smell like that," Spike commented.
"I mean, everything they have," Rose explained, suddenly looking a little shy. "They have peanut butter and jelly pizzas, and taco pizzas and those barbeque chicken and pineapple pizzas, so I got all of that plus the regular stuff on it." She dished up a piece and the two vampires watched incredulously as she actually took a bite and even got it down. She sat in thought for a moment. "They forgot the anchovies," she complained, then shrugged and went on eating.
Angel and Spike looked at each other, shook their heads and left the kitchen. They didn't think they could stand to watch her eat that.
&&&&&&&
Rose slept restlessly that night, and Spike wasn't sure if he was more inclined to blame it on her eventful day or that godawful pizza she'd consumed. But he was knackered, and finally, he dropped off soundly enough that even her tossing and turning didn't disturb him the way it normally would.
Rose opened her eyes, and saw that it was still the middle of the night. But she couldn't sleep. She wanted something, she wasn't sure what. She just knew that she was thirsty. She slipped out of bed and was mildly surprised that it didn't wake Spike. She tiptoed out to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door and waited for something to appeal to her. Something finally did. She poured it out, warmed it up and drank it down, being sure to thoroughly wash her cup. Then, she slid back into bed beside Spike and went soundly to sleep.
&&&&&&&
Rose woke with a start, feeling that something was wrong. At first assessment, nothing was. She was safe and sound, in bed, with Spike wrapped around her like a protective covering. But something seemed not quite right. A glance at the clock confirmed her suspicions. It was already mid-morning and way past time to be at work. She started the process of disentangling herself from Spike, but found that he wasn't having any of it.
"The ponce gave us the day off, pet," he murmured in her ear. "Figured you could use some time to unwind. Me too, for that matter."
"When was this decided?" Rose asked, trying to decide whether or not to get mad. "I don't recall hearing anything about it."
"While you were eating," Spike explained, suppressing a shudder. He hoped that pizza wasn't going to become a habit. "Not like we could sit there and watch you eat that ghastly stuff."
Rose felt a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth and gave up on mad. It would be more effort than she wanted to go to. "So you figured that you'd just spring it on me rather than argue it out?"
"Easier," Spike mumbled His hands started roaming over her suggestively. "'Spose I could interest you in..,"
Rose grabbed his wrists while she could still think. "Could you hold that thought, darling?" she asked. "Your children are wiggling around on top of my bladder. I have to go to the bathroom."
&&&&&&&&
"Hello, Angel."
Angel looked up and was less than pleased to see the sultry brunette that had only ever been introduced to them as Eve. "What do you want, Eve?" he said as dismissively as possible. He never had had much use for their liaison with the senior partners.
"I'm here to do you a favor, Angel," Eve replied, pouting slightly. "How would you like to have your apartment all to yourself and still not have to worry about Rose's safety?"
That got Angel's attention. "Why would the senior partners care about Rose's safety?" he asked cautiously. As far as he knew, and he would be the first to admit that what he knew about the senior partners didn't go far, they didn't know about Rose.
"You don't think they don't have their own copies of all the prophecies?" Eve queried. "They still haven't figured out quite where Rose comes from, but they've been watching her since her arrival. And now, being in the center of a major prophecy, they thought it might be a good idea to..,"
"Hedge their bets?" Angel suggested. "So when are you going to get to the part that I don't like?"
"I don't think there's going to be one this time," Eve replied. "But I can't just tell you, I'm going to have to show you." When he made no move to get up, she added, "Or do you really want the pitter-patter of little feet at your place? Not to mention Spike as a perpetual houseguest?"
Against his better judgment, Angel got up and followed her. It wasn't like he had actually agreed to anything. Yet. It couldn't hurt to see what she was offering this time.
They got in his private elevator and went down a floor. Eve guided him through hallways half-way across the building. There was what appeared to be another private elevator. "What the hell?" Angel muttered.
They got in the elevator, and Eve pushed a button. "There has always been an apartment set aside for the senior partners when they feel like dropping in," she explained. "For one thing, they don't think they're going to feel like dropping in on you, and for another..," The elevator door opened. "It's bigger than your place. About right for four people, really."
They stepped out into a suite of rooms that made Angel's place look almost like a broom closet. He looked around. Of course, he'd have to have his people go over it with a fine-toothed comb, just to make sure that the senior partners weren't up to something. But this, this would provide ample room for Spike and Rose and their growing family.
"How come I was never told that this was here?" Angel inquired.
Eve shrugged. "It was never thought necessary, I guess," she answered. "The senior partners are going to charge them a nominal rent, for form's sake. But they're also going to authorize funds for remodeling the place however Rose and Spike see fit."
"So what's the catch?" Angel always treaded warily where the senior partners were concerned. They couldn't possibly be doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, since goodness was totally foreign to them. He wasn't sure about the hearts, either. And there just had to be a catch, there always was.
Again with the shrug. "As far as I know, that's it," she replied. "Rose is a mystery to them. But she and Spike figure in a major prophecy, and they feel that it would be in their best interests to extend their protection to them until it seems best to do otherwise."
Angel hesitated. He wouldn't trust the senior partners as far as he could throw the whole damn building. But the thought of not having Spike under his roof, ever again, was incredibly appealing. On the other hand, there was the thought of getting Spike out of his apartment. Somehow, that thought just stuck in his mind.
"I'll be wanting my people to check the place out," he muttered. Getting Spike the hell out of his apartment.
"The partners figured that," Eve said. "And I should point out that the place is warded against practically anything you could possibly think of. They'd be safer here than at your place."
"Let me see it in writing," Angel responded as firmly as he could. "In plain English, too, not legalese. I want every last detail spelled out, down to the rent they expect Spike and Rose to pay."
"I'll have the papers in your office tomorrow," Eve promised. "In the meantime, here's the keys. So your people can start running their checks." She turned and left him standing there, assuming that he could find his own way back to familiar territory.
&&&&&&
Angel refrained mentioning the senior partner's offer to Rose and Spike when he got home that night. He didn't want to get their hopes up until the place had been scoped out from top to bottom. And that was happening. For everything from listening devices and hidden cameras to traps and spells. So far, it was checking out okay, but it would still take a couple of days to finish up. But he felt whipped right now. He barely acknowledged Rose's greeting and headed straight to the kitchen for a cup of his staple beverage. Moments later, he was back in the living area, glaring at Spike.
"Spike, what in the hell were you doing drinking up all the blood?" he growled. "There should have been another day's worth in there at least."
"Wasn't that much when I got up," Spike declared. "There probably wasn't as much in there as you thought."
"It was a full container last night," Angel said. "I didn't have any this morning, I waited until I got to the office. So do you want to tell me just how it disappeared? Seeing as how there's only you and me using the stuff? Or are you going to try to tell me that Rose drank it?"
"As if," Spike hooted. "Why don't you just admit that you don't know what in hell you're talking about, as usual, and ring up for some more." He looked to Rose for support and was surprised to see that she was sitting there like she was trying to look smaller than she was. And more than a bit guilty. "Babe, you didn't..," He was too shocked to finish the sentence.
"Actually," Rose admitted in a small voice. "I did."